About 65 patients were taken ill due to gastroenteritis at Beggar village located near Sichuan bet in Ludhiana district on Thursday. Patients were admitted to the Civil Hospital,Jagraon,and Kalyani Hospital,Jagraon,while a few were also at a camp organised by the health authorities at Dharamshala village.

Contaminated water supply was the main reason for this outbreak,said district epidemiologist Dr Anil Verma. Cases of mild diarrhoea were being reported for the past two days but the condition worsened on Thursday. Teams from three dispensaries of Sidhwan Bet have organised a health camp at this village.

While water supply connections were disconnected,water was now being supplied through water tankers in the affected areas.

Sources in the water supply department said illegal water connection taken by one of the residents was the result of water contamination. The health department took four water and stool samples from that village. Report will come in three-four days.

The residents said they had complained to the authorities earlier as well,but no one came to check the water supply lines. The outbreak occurred in one Vehra colony of the village where mostly poor families reside.